Autobot Ambush! pt 2: The RED book of Primus
The Steel Balloon Within the Steel Balloon, there is a dance floor immediately past the front door. Behind the floor is the main bar, which curves around like an elongated half-octagon. Several bartenders busily serve the customers that flow into this place at any given time. Springer says, "Hey guys...I've got a line on something interesting on Cybertron. Real interesting. Especially if you like reading. And colors. And you're superstious." Springer says, "I'm meeting my contact in the Steel Balloon on Cybertron, anybody who's available, I could use some backup." Whirl says, "I cannot relate to any of those things, but I am willing to help." Hobo has entered The Steel Balloon. Hobo It's hard to tell exactly what this individual actually is. Well, specifically anyway, it's apparently some kind of animal given that it walks on four legs and not two. But the majority of the body and head are covered by some tattered, old green cloth that hangs loosely from its frame, barely touching the floor in places and revealing inadequate definition to accurately pick out a specific shape. The legs that pretrude from beneath have a silver-metallic sheen to them, ending in sharply tipped paws. Some sort of muzzle emerges from the hood-like part of the rags, but beyond that there is mostly darkness, save two piercing ice-blue eyes. Springer sits at a table with his back to the wall, partially obscured with shadows and positioned where he can almost watch the entire room. It's not the table with the best view in the room - some other shady robots are in that table, whispering over some black market deal or another. But it's right next to that table, and Springer figures it's the best he can do on short notice. Springer leans forward in his chair and looks over with elaborate casual-ness as Hobo walks in...then after a second he seems to make a decision and sits back in the shadows once again, although he still watches the figure. Whirl has entered The Steel Balloon. Silverbolt says, "on my way. I think the rest of the Aerialbots are still passed out though." Groove says, "Heeeeey" Hobo has actually been here for some time, though the small creature would tend to go slightly unoticed amongst larger company, particular as his dress tends to make him somewhat shadowed in comparison with the metallic sheen of many of the others here. A sweeping gaze slowly pans the room, before he settles back down on his haunches, muttering something quietly to himself. "And thus they did gather when the time were near..." Or at least that's what it vaguely soun ds like to anyone close by. Groove says, "Just want to say, like, I've been hearing BAD VIBES so if anyone wants some anger councilling, I have my official Protectobot manual right here..." Groove has entered The Steel Balloon. Silverbolt has entered The Steel Balloon. Fireflight sounds doubtful, "That anything like the sensitivity training?" Groove says, "Yeah, its on the same module, man" Impulse has entered The Steel Balloon. Impulse zips into the room, quickly sweeping the area. Groove staggers into the Steel Balloon, shading his optics from the change in brightness as he crashes into a table. "NNnnn heavy!" he cries, taking out a packet of emergency power enhancer capsules and plugging one into his main energon line. He looks up. "I'm here to meet a man about a turbodog!" he exclaims Whirl comes trotting into the silly named bar in his usual, non-chalant manner, optic flickering as he takes in all around him. He taps at the side of his helm and makes his way over to where he believes Springer to be, trying his best to assimilate himself. "Quite the rendezvous point." Fireflight has entered The Steel Balloon. Fireflight soars into view somewhat less than gracefully. Springer nods at Whirl, and then Groove, and any other Autobots that make their presence known. He moves one foot under the table to push a chair out for his fellow Wrecker. There are plenty of other chairs at the table as well. "Yeah, well...our 'contact' is kind of shy. He wanted to meet in a nice open place, with plenty of people around. He's not an Autobot." Springer frowns slightly. "I guess that counts more as 'cagey' than 'shy'. But you get the idea." Silverbolt walks his way towards Springer and rubs his head. "One of the few cons that'll play ball with us instead of insult us. will wonders never cease." The prospect of another Book of Primus is something that Impulse takes very seriously. And so, after giving Powerglide and Broadcast both an earful (and after grabbing both of them by the audials to make /sure/ they both listened), he came through the spacebridge to hear more about this newest potential color of the Books of Primus. He walks over, taking a seat. "I hope this is good. It'd be nice to actually get ahead of the Decepticons and stay ahead of them, for a change." Whirl sits himself down, elbows on the table, chin resting upon his propped hands, "Ohh my, not an Autobot? Can this contact of yours be trusted?" He acknowledges the others with a slight nod, unsure if they'll be of any help. I mean, c'mon. Groove? When was the last time he did anything useful? F-4 Phantom II walks behind Silverbolt, too busy looking over the whole place to respond to his wingleader. He hasn't been here in a while, and there are plenty of interesting things he forgot about entirely... Groove pops up beside Whirl and places some energon cubes on the table. "Uuuh, this the cue for buying Nucleon?" he mutters, a glazed expression over his face. "For like, medicinal purposes only. It helps the uh... /space cramps/ I get in my arm...." The F-4's nose and tail fold up as white arms and legs emerge from the jet's underbelly. The landing gear retracts as Fireflight's head pops up from the robot torso. Springer flicks his optics over to Silverbolt. "I, uh...didn't say he was a Decepticon either." Springer responds vaguely. As if on cue, a figure turns around and starts to limp away from the bar...then stops, turns back and throws back the rest of his drink - they may be cheap and weak, but no sense wasting on a planet like Cybertron. Then the figure turns and starts to limp across the room. It takes a long time because both legs seems to be fused stiff. But as the robot step-clumps closer, it becomes plain that there's nothing wrong with his legs - at least in theory. They're actually a huge drill-like tubes without joints. Yes, this is one of those poor third-rate transformers with a really poor transformation that leaves him with zero points of movement in his legs. Other then that he's pretty unremarkable, just an average-sized robot with almost no armor or visible weapons. He's even covered in dust, indicating this is one of those mythical civilian robots you hear about but rarely ever see, the ones who have nothing to do with the war and simply work for a living. Whirl stares at Groove with as much contempt as a guy without a face can, and then scoots himself away a bit. "Oh, Springer. How exceptionally vague of you." The hilarious, poorly built robot catches his optic, but he says nothing. Poor guy. He must be retarded. Or related to Foxfire. (BAZING) Hobo shuffles further off to one side of the area, keen to stay a little out of the way for the time being. And given his advanced sensory equipment, he can still perfectly keep up with what's going on, or about to happen. Springer looks up and grins at the unnamed Transformer. "Oh look! There he is. Hey guys, this is Two-Bit." The transformer in question winces and shoots a look around to see if anyone else is paying attention. Springer may have started off well, but it quickly becomes clear that clandestine operations and secret bar-room meetings aren't exactly his field of expertise. "Two-bit here's from Crystal City. But before that (and I'm talking WAY before that) he was on the same mining detail as Impactor. Apparently they still keep in touch. Anyhow, -he's- the guy we're here to meet." Springer finishes his little rundown of Two-Bit's bio by giving him a nod and a knowing smirk. Two-Bit looks around shiftily, carefully examining each Autobot he sees. "Impactor's not with you?" He looks up at the ceiling. "Primus give me strength..." Silverbolt sighs quietly and sits down near Fireflight. Apparently they're keeping a distance from most of the Autobots there. Groove leans over to the figure. "Nnn no man, like, these new sweet transistors can give you strength. You got any cheap, I keep burnin' mine out...." Impulse glances up at Two-Bit. "I think we can keep you pretty well protected, Two-Bit," he replies. "If you can tell us anything, please... now's the time." Whirl flickers his optic, "Do you truely think we are useless without Impactor? How sad." Silverbolt simply keeps watch from his vantage point. Fireflight reached back and pats his own fuselage absent-mindedly for a moment. "Oh, no, wait, that card wasn't for here." Seeing Silverbolt sit near where he's standing, Fireflgiht explains, "That's OK, I'm trying to save that for some time we all have a rec cycle" His optics flick over to the larger group and their odd-gaited companion, "How serious do you think all this book of Primus stuff is, anyway?" he asks Silverbolt, keeping his voice low. Groove slowly smiles, and gets up, taking a bag with him. "Uh like, I'm just going to the little mechs room. Peace and love all!" He looks about shiftily before departing. Two-Bit shakes his head at Impulse and clears his vocalizer in a croaking burst of static before responding. It takes him a while, so long that he only speaks up after Whirl. Two-Bit shakes his head at Whirl too. "No, it's not that. Just that...well...never mind." He shrugs akwardly, then leans over the table and puts down a small piece of metal. "He said to leave this with the Autobots came to meet me. I just figured he'd be one of them. Something to do with some book." The metal looks like a greenish tile, part of a road maybe, with some cybertonian scribbling on it and some laser marks. "Hmm... let me see that." Impulse takes it gently, looking over it for several moments. Optics narrow at the script. "Ancient Texts Wing... library..." The optics blink. "New Vilnacron?" He looks up at Two-Bit. "What does this have to do with the Books of Primus? Is one of them there?" Two-Bit blinks his own optics. "Did you say book of Primus? Don't know anything about that. All I know is, I'm supposed to give that to you Autobots." He looks around, then whispers, "Not in here!". Then he turns and hurries for the door. Springer looks at the other Autobots, then shrugs. He stands up and follows Two-Bit out. You leave The Steel Balloon. Koriolis Desert Out in the open, this section of the Old Cybertron Highway was hit heavily in the fighting, and is only now being rebuilt after nearly being totally destroyed. Other than the Highway the area is a total wasteland. Where energon once ran freely, there now is only a barren desert. Half-rebuilt sections show where construction has not been completed. The brand new materials contrast heavily against the darkness of the desert, shining like new-found hope through the heavy dust clouds that swirl around you. Silverbolt emerges from The Steel Balloon. Hobo emerges from The Steel Balloon. Impulse emerges from The Steel Balloon. Impulse zips into the room, quickly sweeping the area. Whirl emerges from The Steel Balloon. Fireflight emerges from The Steel Balloon. Fireflight enters the area and looks around. Two-Bit waves the Autobots over from where he's hiding around back. "Look, all I can tell you is that Impactor asked me to give that to you. I got it from...well, I'm not supposed to tell you who I got it from. Impactor said it would be okay if I didn't! Honest!" He looks a little nervous now. Silverbolt walks his way out and simply listens. Impulse comes out, the tile still in hand and a questioning expression on his face. "Impactor said this..." he murmurs, coming over to Two-Bit. He glances at Springer. "Where is Impactor, anyway?" Hobo deliberately keeps his distance still, melting amongst the shadows where afforded. He glances around the area, trying to see if there might be something that would make this mech quite as nervous as he apparently is. Now that they've rejoined the others, Fireflight takes the opportunity to look over that piece of metal Impulse got. Such a little thing... his optics brighten a bit as he sees the writings on the tile. Whirl tilts his head to the side, "I'm not sure I completely believe that, my dusty friend. I wish to know more about the orgins of this item." He brings his laser-shootin'™ hand up, "Do not make me use force." Springer doesn't follow Two-Bit around, but answers Impulse. "He's off-planet. Something about planning for a big event." Springer shrugs helplessly. "He's like that sometimes...guess he knows we're all grown up and can take care of ourselves." He rubs his chin and regards Two-Bit. "But he's got contacts like this all over Cybertron, and they've never led us wrong before. As hard as that is to believe. Impactor's good at judging a mech, I guess." Springer frowns when Whirl starts talking about using force. "Uh..." Silverbolt pats Whirl on the shoulder. "no need for that." Two-Bit outright loses it once Whirl starts making threats. Despite Silverbolt's words, the robot says, "That's it, I'm out of here!" He transforms into an ungainly looking drill-wagon mode (not nearly tough and powerful enough to qualify as a drill tank like Impactor, or a DRILLDOZER like Twin Twist) and then burrows into the ground, leaving a tiny hole. From all the other gopher-like piles of dirt behind this corner of the Steel Balloon, it's actually looking like a common means of coming and going here. Without proper supports, the tunnel quickly fills in after Two-Bit, preventing anyone from following even if they'd want to! Whirl can only stare blankly as Two-Bit makes his dramatic exit. He lowers his hand, turns, and stares at Springer now. "Well, he wasn't very helpful anyway." Fireflight 's navigational lights flash. "Bot can get around in one mode, at least." "Oh, slaggit... Whirl!" Impulse glares at the Wrecker for a moment. "It's from New Vilnacron. Ancient Texts Wing of the library. But New Vilnacron's been in ruins for millions of years." Impulse looks over at Springer. "We need to check this out. The sooner, the better." Springer shrugs. "I don't know where Impactor digs up these guys sometimes." He nudges Whirl slightly and says in a soft voice, "Get it? Dig?" Then he raises his voice again, pointing down in the direction of New Vilnacron (which is somewhere south of here I believe). "If I remember, New Vilnacron's that way. Or at least, it used to be." Then he transforms and heads down the road. "I'm with you Impulse...let's roll!" Springer shifts quickly into his racecar mode. Silverbolt nods and transforms....keeping low as he flys. Silverbolt transforms into his plane mode (autobot spinny!) Ruins of New Vilnacron Once the primary checkpoint for people and merchandise entering the city, the area has shrunk to a fraction of its former size due to the partial collapse of the ceiling, the south end tilting steeply and dangerously downwards. What used to be the city of New Vilnacron is now a city of the dead. The elevator shaft is totally impassable, both up and down, the walls squeezed together and sealed shut by the tremendous weight of megatons of metal moving as it was never meant to move. Chunks of ripped metal, fallen beams, and crushed equipment fill what little space is left, making for claustrophobically close quarters and little room to maneuver. Whirl says, "Oh. What a..great place.." Springer shifts quickly into his robot mode. The F-4's nose and tail fold up as white arms and legs emerge from the jet's underbelly. The landing gear retracts as Fireflight's head pops up from the robot torso. A flurry of shifting, twisting and contorting ensues as the sleek, streamlined form of a gold hovercar transforms into the Autobot known as Impulse. Silverbolt changes into his robot mode. Springer moves carefully through the ruins, leading the way confidently. Verrry confidently. Almost as if he's been here before. Soon he comes to a bookshelf that looks somehow out of place in the other rubble, and without hesitation he reaches down and flips it over, revealing... You drop Red Book Of Primus. Red Book Of Primus The Red Book Of Primus, a hereunto undiscovered text sits here, its red leather cover locked securely by an electro-padlock which recodes itself every ten breems. The sides of the pages are painted red, with a special metallic dye that renders the inside of the text unscannable. Hobo hops off of Whirl, who'd been kind enough to give him a lift. But almost as soon as he'd made his prescence known, he's hopped off amongst the rubble, his small size letting him pick his way much more easily than the rest of the party. Half of whom probably don't even realise he's even here. Whirl stares at the book, "Oh. Well, I guess we're done here." Impulse frowns, kneeling down and taking a look at the Red Book. "Huh... electro-padlock on it. This ought to be interesting..." He examines the lock closely, to give himself a general idea of how it works. Catechism arrives from the dark tunnel leading from the Ruins of New Vilnacron to the west. Catechism has arrived. Blueshift arrives from the dark tunnel leading from the Ruins of New Vilnacron to the west. Blueshift has arrived. Shockwave arrives from the dark tunnel leading from the Ruins of New Vilnacron to the west. Shockwave has arrived. Whirl says, "d-dad!?" The spaceship flips up into the handsome form of Blueshift Springer smirks at Whirl. "No...I think we're just getting started." He raises a tiny remote control and clicks a big red button on it. Small, carefully placed explosives go off near the entrance, sending even more rubble falling and mostly blocking the way out! (not completely blocking, but it should now take a little while for anyone to get in or out). Soundwave has arrived. Soundwave spins, folds, and collapses down into an innocuous-looking microcassette recorder, a fraction of his former size. Blue Microcassette Recorder surreptitiously hides on Catechism's belt, or whatnot. Blueshift blasts into the tunnel after Catechism, flying through the air in robot mode, his sword at his side and glowing with power. "Where are the Autobots, I will kill them all!" he yells loudly Impulse glances up from the Red Book. "What the--" And then there's the explosion, and Impulse's optics flicker. "Springer... mind telling me just why you just blew up the entrance?" Catechism busts into the area, a cloud of dust from the explosion heralding her approach. Now that Blueshift has totally ruined her cover, she cries out, "You call that an explosion, Autobots? More like an engine back-firing!" Rule 167 of the Decepticon Handbook: if in doubt, heckle the Autobots. Springer grins at the Decepticons flying in. "It's simple, Impulse...I just didn't want anybody leaving the party early." Then he walks over to the Red Book and gives it a solid kick! Sending it flying over until it's between the Autobots and the Decepticons!! But Springer's not done yet...he quickly turns his tiny remote control -upside down-, revealing ANOTHER large button, this one blue. He presses that, and suddenly the lock on the Red Book of Primus pops open, and the cover itself swings wide, to reveal... The Autobot Handbook A copy of the Autobot Handbook, with the words "Wrecker Edition" inscribed on the front Whirl reaches over and grabs onto Springer's shoulder, "Thank /God/. I was afraid we'd have to read another Book of Primus. Those things are asolutely dreadful." Springer says, "What are you guys waiting for? WRECK AND RULE!!" Hobo peeks out from amongst the rubble, glancing in the direction of the detonation, and then the cries coming from the Decepticons as they suddenly burst in. "And thus, under the false pretense of knowledge was battle joined. And Primus himself did weep," he mumbles, almost mournfully. This is the point in the cartoon where Soundwave would mysteriously show up from out of nowhere and launch six tapes, doubling the number of Decepticons present. Oh, how I long for those days. Instead, a tiny blue device falls off of Catechism and clatters onto the floor. One.. two.. three. The innocuous-looking microcassette recorder rapidly unfolds and grows to immense proportions, becoming the Decepticon Communicator, Soundwave! "You're telling me," Fireflight comments to Whirl as he readies his photon displacer pistol. Impulse looks at Springer like he's gone insane -- Primus, like they need someone /else/ with a slaggin' cerebro-shell. And then he sees the book for what it is... and hears Hobo's words. That voice... Impulse looks at Hobo for a moment. "You and I need to talk sometime," he says quietly, before standing up slowly and turning around. "This is gonna be interesting..." Blueshift is pretty much a stranger to the concept of subtlety, as he lands in the tunnel, right in front of the Autobots, and swishes his sword in the direction of the Autobot Handbook. "Okay Autobots, we're here for that BOOK, hand it over or feel the wrath of BLUESHIFT!" he screams. And then, he adds "...the BEST Shift" Hobo settles back down amongst the rubble, looking more like a piece of old cloth covering some rockery. He has no interest in being a part of any fight, that's for sure. Catechism slaps a hand to her cone. She exclaims, "A trap? I knew it didn't make any sense! It violates all the threes. See? Fours can only bring sorrow and evil!" And... with Catechism, there are four coneheads. Uh-oh. Space-Gun transforms and lands with a loud *thud* on the cave floor. The purple cyclops scans the room's occupants and classifies the targets. "Decepticons, terminate them with extreme prejudice." He says with all the emotional capacity of a coffee maker. With the traditional sound, the space-gun unfolds into Shockwave's robot mode. Springer reaches behind his back and pulls out the large snowboard-sized slab of metal he calls a sword. "Terminate this!" He answers, before sending himself charging through the air at Shockwave. He seems to have no qualms at all about attacking first (and with no pesky press around, he doesn't have to worry about maintaining the Autobot image!) You strike Shockwave with Sword. Shockwave lets the Autobot charge //Typical and predictable. They all think because I am range oriented I -must- be melee deficient. It will be their downfall.// The Decepticon raises his gun arm to block the sword strike which still leaves a decent cut in the forearm's armor. At the same time Shockwave moves into Springer closing the distance and smashing him across the mouth with a swift vicious elbow strike. Shockwave strikes you with Elbow strike! for 13 points of damage. Fireflight says, "Not today, you won't!" There's not much to distract Fireflight from the fact that a bunch of Decepticons are charging right now - and Blueshift, leading the charge, is the obvious target." Fireflight misses Blueshift with his Laser Blast attack. Impulse's optics focus on Catechism. Ah... her again. For some reason, Catechism seems to enjoy shooting at Impulse a lot. The Smithsonian. Foxworld IV. Well, this time, things are going to be at least a little different. He zigs, then zags, at least twice as fast as anyone else limited to ground movement in their robot mode. It's still a blur of motion, and then Impulse's fist is launching forward at Catechism. "Decided I was tired of you shooting first, shooting some more, and then after you all /hope/ I'm dead, trying to ask a question or two." Impulse strikes Catechism with Crystalocution Open Palm Strike. Blueshift ducks out of the way as Fireflight shoots at him, a look of disbelief on his face. "Uuugh, what was THAT Autobot? A puny laser? From a Autobot flier? Autobots can't fly, you just do it with strings or something!" He actually looks really angry at this, as he races forwards to Fireflight, throwing out all ideas such as 'tactics' as he aims to punch the Aerialbot in the face. "The skies belong to ME! And uh, Aerospace!" Blueshift strikes Fireflight with Is that your FACE?. To be fair, on Foxworld, Impulse was picking on Catechism, not the other way around. She snorts and corrects, "I have never questioned you, Autobot." He manages to hit her with a fancy martial arts move. Catechism is not nearly so fancy. She replies with a solid punch and a retort, "But I'd be happy to rectify that oversight." Catechism misses Impulse with its Smiting The Heathens attack. Springer's head is turned to one side by the force of Shockwave's elbow strike. He turns it slowly back to look at Shockwave. Then he spits out a tiny gob of mech fluid mixed with a bit of energon and maybe even a cog or two. "That all you've got?" Macho posturing accomplished, he feints a punch with his free hand and then brings up a knee! Shockwave evades your kick attack. Hobo groans quietly from amongst his hiding place, presumably all but forgotten now in the heat of battle. "And they did clash in the darkness with fire and with fist. And from far away they watched, and they waited. Until eventually they would come and take their rightful place." Shockwave takes a step back and swings his gun-arm downwards to divert Springer's knee strike and counters with a solid right to the nose. "I have much more Autobot. Much much more." //Sub-routine: Hybrid combat with a wrecker. Strategy class: Sped// Shockwave strikes you with Right Cross for 7 points of damage. And so it was up to Whirl to take on the only Decepticon left: Soundwave. Now, what was the best way to go about doing this? Heckling? Laserfire? /Null ray/? No. No, none of that seemed right. There was only one option. "Soounnddwaaaaaveeee," the Wrecker called out in a sing-song manner. "Come out and plaaa-aaaay!" And so began the best tactic ever used by anyone ever, charging your opponent like a fat kid to a cake. Only with more face punching. Whirl strikes Soundwave with Punch. Impulse is the first to admit that, in the air, the Decepticons definitely have a distinct advantage in mobility and maneuverability. But on the ground... well, that's where the advantage seems to switch to the Autobots. And Impulse is willing to take full advantage of it. "Good thing, too. I hate it when you slaggers ask questions. Nine times out of ten, it's simply your way to try and see how inventive and creative you can get in torturing others." A blur of motion, and Impulse spins around, arms lashing out to not only try and grab Catechism's arm, but then flip her onto the ground! "Strings?" Fireflight looks so bewildered by Blueshift that he doesn't seem to notice the punch coming, obvious as it was. One optic cracked, he stares back at his attacker, "That's the - " instead of finishing, he kicks out almost reflexively at Blueshift, then glances over in Hobo's direction of all things before turning his optics back to his fight. Fireflight misses Blueshift with his Kick (No Strings Attached) attack. Impulse strikes Catechism with Crystalocution Flip!. Normally Soundwave might try to avoid being struck. That would only seem logical. However this time, he just stands there. And waits. Optic glaring, face a mask. -CLANK- Where Whirl's fist strikes the Communicator's faceplate, there is only a small dent. His right fist clenches, and then his left hand comes up, palm flat, back of his knuckles heading for Whirl's face. Soundwave strikes Whirl with Backhand. Blueshift may be stupid, he may be dumb, he may be a joke, but there's one thing that's kept him alive, and that is the fact that he's actually quite useful in a fight. The blue Decepticon darts backwards, growling lowly at the Autobot. "How can you possibly fly, only Decepticons can fly, it must be Autobot TRICKERY!" With that, he leaps into the air, and slices his energy sword at Fireflight. Does he really believe there are strings? Blueshift misses Fireflight with his Cut The Strings attack. Springer is rocked back by the punch. "I've got to learn to stop saying that," he mutters to himself. But then he suddenly spins around in a pirouhette that might almost look graceful (if Springer wasn't so bulky, and armed to teeth). As he spins he extends the sword slightly so that the edge slices out at Shockwave, hoping that the speed of his motion will take the Decepticon by surprise. You strike Shockwave with blade. Catechism replies, "One in a million chances happen nine times out of ten!" which is clearly the only reason why he manages to get a second hit in on her. She is flipped onto the ground, and she impacts heavily, her armour denting. She takes aim at Impulse with an arm gun, from the ground. After she snaps off the shot, hit or not, she gets moving, stumbling to her feet. Catechism misses Impulse with its 25-mm GAU-12 cannon attack. Even as Catechism's arm-mounted gun comes up, Impulse is already on the move, spinning around to the left as the shot goes wild. "You know, statistically... that's bad math. But you 'Cons never were too bright." Even as he comes around, his laser pistol is suddenly in hand, snapping off a quick shot. Impulse strikes Catechism with Blaster Pistol << Low >>. Shockwave is indeed slightly taken by surprise by Springer's speed which causes the blade to hit's it's target around the neck armor. The cyclops leaps away from Springer and lands in a crouched position gun-arm extended and aimed squarely at the autobot's jolly fat giant. Well bulky but Shockwave is mean so he'll stick with fat. "Let's see how fast you really are Autobot." as he begins peppering Springer with a couple of blasts from the Infrared part of the spectrum. Shockwave strikes you with Infrared Blast for 8 points of damage. Fireflight 's navigational lights twinkle like cheery little holiday markers. "Believe what you want," he shrugs as he ducks the sword that Blueshift doesn't quite seem to be aiming at him somehow, and raises his double-barrelled pistol in reply. "It doesn't change anything..." the Aerialbot muses as he squeezes a shot nearly straight up at Blueshift. Fireflight misses Blueshift with his Blinding Photon Displacer Beam attack. Silverbolt finally wakes up from his daze and sighs. "well....here's another thing the Humans can bad mouth the Aerialbots for." He says as he aims his rifle at Blueshift. Silverbolt strikes Blueshift with electricity. Catechism snaps, "You Autobots don't read much, do you? Of course, how could you, since we have all the Books?" She smirks, even though she is shot. Okay, so her targeting systems? Apparently they fail against illiterate Autobots. Frustrated, she just tries to smash a fist into Impulse, using her spiked knuckles this time. Catechism strikes Impulse with Spiked Knuckles. In an enclosed space which includes some of the Decepticon's most heavy hitters, the Autobots decide to team up on... Blueshift. This pretty much inflates his ego no end as he turns to Silverbolt. "You! I thought Aerialbots were white, but instead they are YELLOW!" he shouts, as he nimbly avoids Fireflight's attack, heading to put a boot into Silverbolt's face Blueshift strikes Silverbolt with Booty. Hobo scrabbles about amongst the rubble, seeking a higher vantage point from which to observe the battle. Though obviously one that is still reasonably safe and not likely to put him in any serious danger of being caught up in the proceedings. "And the battle did rage into the night, until exhaustion did strike down its victims. And only then did the Fourth step into the light." Springer throws a hand up to shield his face against the lasers, letting then burn off his forearm armor painfully...only to reveal still more armor underneath (also painted green). His voice sounds a little strained, as if he's gritting his teeth. "Not fast enough. But that's okay, I've got personality." He raises his forearm as if inspecting the damage, and even lets a tiny panel pop open to make sure it still works. And from the compartment emerges a tiny laser that he immediately turns on Soundwave! Shockwave evades your Pop-Up Laser attack. Whirl actually hits the guy in the face! Yes! Unfortunately, fists are only so strong. He drops his hand and shakes it around, beginning to wonder if that hurt him more than it hurt Mr. Communications. And then he was backhanded like a little bitch, the blow wounding not only his face, but his pride as well. There is a series of awkward backwards stumbling, before the Wrecker straightens himself out and prepares to take another shot. "Agh! Behind you! A three-headed monkey!" Of course Soundwave isn't going to fall for that and turn around, so Whirl just swings his hand/module at him. Whirl strikes Soundwave with Heavy Box to THE FACE. Impulse actually gets knocked back by that, his chest dented in with deeper indentations from the spikes on Catechism's fist. But by now, he's found prospective openings in Catechism's defense. And he spins with the blow, using the momentum to spin back around, and suddenly there's a kick aimed straight at Catechism's cone! "Calling me illiterate, little femme? I'm not the one with a dunce cap on my head because I wasn't as good as the other Seekers." Impulse strikes Catechism with Kick. Shockwave leaps and rolls off to the side twisting sideways in order to minimize his silhouette incidently avoiding Springer's attack and countering with an unhealthy dose of X-rays. "I wonder what you look like inside Autobot. I will enjoy experimenting on you." Emotions from Shockwave? Nawwww "No, what doesn't change is that we're a team." Fireflight's explanation sounds weirdly calm in the midst of all this, even as he switches his weapon back to its more lethal setting. "And if you hurt one of us..." Shockwave strikes you with X-Ray Blast for 17 points of damage. Fireflight misses Blueshift with his Laser Blast attack. Groove says, "So uh, how's it all going people" Whirl says, "It goes, my junkie friend." Silverbolt tries to grab onto Blueshift's leg. "......then you face us ALL!" and if he grabs Blueshift's leg....he'll smash him into the ground. Silverbolt strikes Blueshift with smash. Catechism thinks she hears something about a Fourth. She's paying extra special attention to that sort of thing, mindful of the mission with which she was tasked. Then she sees that the Aerialbots are ganging up on... Blueshift. What in the hecking heck? Again falling back on Rule 167, she jeers, "Aerialbots? More like AerialNOTS!" Then, she stares at Impulse. For one thing? They are the same height. She is not little. For another, she hates the term 'femme'. She looks like somebody took an average of Dirge and Ramjet and then slapped in Thrust's lift fans. Call her a FE-male Decepticon, kthx? At the kick to her cone, the Seeker emits, "Nnng, you foolish Autobot homme!" and she snaps her head down, charging right at Impulse. Soundwave does try to take a step back. A lumbering, ponderous step back. Whirl's hand grazes his armor, pushing him onward, and the Decepticon takes that moment to keep going. At a safer distance, a few meters perhaps, he reaches up to tap the button on his shoulder. "Buzzsaw, eject. Operation: Blind." Out from Soundwave's chest flies a boxy little cassette, archaic as it maybe, that grows rapidly into a winged abomination, a mechanical condor. "Ahem. Caw," he drolls, deadpan and smug. "Oh, master, please allow me to first give him a nice scar to remember me by. Such a pretty scar.." The bird swoops down at Whirl's face, with a little twirl, diving beak first.. Soundwave strikes Whirl with Buzzsaw's Debut. Catechism strikes Impulse with Headbutt. Blueshift leaps out of the way of Fireflight, only to get caught by Silverbolt and smashed into the ground. "Nnn still, good to see that my legend has spread so far across the Autobots that I am more of a threat than even Commanders Catechism, Shockwave and Soundwave!" he boasts, puffing out his chest as he fires his retros into the air. Then he shouts out "No offense!" to his commanders, before turning into his small spacecraft mode in the confines of the tunnel, and flying straight at Silverbolt's chest Blueshift leaps into the air, flipping into the form of a small spacecraft Blueshift misses Silverbolt with his ram attack. Hobo continues to ramble amongst the sound of raging battle below him. "Some recognised the Fourth for what it was, and yet others paid no heed. And their ignorance would be their undoing, and for them here would be no salvation. Eternal darkness would be their ultimate fate." Ooo, a low shot. Someone seems to be angry, and when people get angry, they get careless. Patience, these days, has become one of Impulse's strong suites, and with Catechism barreling into him, he doesn't try to take some dinky punch at Catechism's cone. Oh no, that wouldn't be fun at all. "Sounds like I struck a neural circuit there," he comments, rolling back onto the ground under Catechism... and suddenly the arms lash out to grab hold of Catechism, the legs rear back... and then they come flying in full-force at her abdomen to kick her up and into a nearby wall that looks questionably sturdy at best. Impulse misses Catechism with his Rolling Upward Kick! attack. Silverbolt moves his body out of the way as Blueshift tries to Ram him. he just goes silent as he aims his rifle at Blueshift's afterburners.....and his rifle winds up. Blueshift succeeds in grasping Blue Spaceship, throwing him off-balance. Springer is bathed in X-rays, his inner wiring and supserstructure momentarily exposed...okay, so that's not how X-rays work, and he's just burned horrendously by the energy, but still that would have made a cool effect. Springer stumbles back, smoking, that famous green paintjob finally being blackened. "Not good...he's pulling out the big guns. I'd better do the same." He raises his arm, and looks at the tiny pop-up laser there. "No, bigger." He holds up his other hand and examines the heavy duty laser pistol, the one that made holes in the side of Unicron (okay, so it was from inside and it was more like 'holes in those little self-defense claws' - but still! It counts!). "No, BIGGER." he insists, tossing the pistol over his shoulder. Finally he reaches behind his back and pulls out a heavy, massive laser rifle. "Yeah...now we're talking." He points it at Shockwave and firesbut he doesn't fire directly at Shockwave, but at the ceiling above! He's hoping to collapse part of the ruined stone and metal overhead and bury the powerful Decepticon! You have set the custom name for attack special in mode 1 to "Tons of falling steel and rock!." You successfully strike Shockwave, who is now temporarily incapacitated. Silverbolt misses Blue Spaceship with his Charged Electricity attack. True fact: Catechism fights better when she is angry. It is a boon to the Autobots that instead of being gripped by righteous rage, she is usually pleasantly cheerful and is thus less dangerous. The second mention of the Fourth grabs her attention, and she looks around, trying to see where the words are coming from, which just so happens to let her evade Impulse's kick. She then tries to slap Impulse senseless, remarking, "I intend to strike more than just a neural circuit!" Catechism misses Impulse with its Backhand attack. Shockwave gets buried under falling debris. One could -almost- hear a muffled swear word. The Decepticon begins the process of digging himself out of the rubble with the firm intend on teaching the annoying Autobot a serious lesson in manners. Fireflight turns away from Blueshift a moment, seemingly looking for or listening to someone else in the fracas. But then he turns back, watching Blueshift to see if the Decepticon shuttle turns himself into blue wallpaper on the cavern... noticing in the process that Springer's collapsing even more of the place. "Hey, leave some room for us, OK?" he calls over before remembering that his weapon really should be pointed at Bleshift, just in case. Whirl was starting to feel pretty good about himself at this point. He was getting a few, somewhat decent hits on his opponent, and- wait, what was he doing? Oh crap, tapes! He completely forgot that he could do that despite it being a trademark for Soundwave. Tapes are so dreadful, and this one gave off an air of terrible smug-ness. And its beak was pointy. "Gaaaaahahahaha! Get off of me!" He waves his hand around, trying to smack the bird away, but it was proving to be surprisingly difficult. "ARGH, SERIOUSLY, YOU ARE PISSING ME OFF!" Then he levels his module at the tape and fires off a round of laserfire. Whirl strikes Soundwave with GET OUT DA WAY. Silverbolt looks up as things start to collapse. << I don't like this Fireflight. >> He says as he raises his rifle at Blueshift again. Missing his kick, Impulse continues his backward roll, and quickly regains his footing. "Bang-up job of it so far," he retorts easily -- almost playfully. Impulse may be old, but he knows how have fun and keep up good spirits. He zigs left, zags right, a blurred fist coming in at Catechism's abdomen... but wait... is that a blade that just snapped out? Impulse strikes Catechism with Retractable Blade Swipe. Blueshift would pretty much like to keep punching Fireflight in the face, but Silverbolt is the one dealing all the damage at the moment. Luckily, his small spacecraft mode is very agile as well as fast, and manages to dart out the way of the gestalt leader's attack. "AM I DEAD YET?" he shouts as he blasts some lasers in Silverbolt's direction Blueshift misses Silverbolt with his Pew pew pew attack. Springer turns away from Shockwave and scans over the chaotic scramble. "Sorry Fireflight!" He calls back quickly, although he doesn't sound anything of the sort." Fixating on Impulse as he slashes Catechism, Springer nods to himself. Then he suddenly leans forward and LEAPS in that direction, somehow managing a low, flat arc that lets him avoid the ceiling while he practically flies across the ruined chamber. He aims to shoulder-check her aside so that now Springer will be standing in front of Impulse. You strike Catechism with Shoulder-Check. Buzzsaw flaps in Whirl's face, detaching himself with whatever tiny scraps of metal are his prize. "Ooh hoo hoo!" he laughs, twirling away. And then he gets shot in the tail-feathers. "Oh no!" he cries, smouldering. "Master, I am slain! Bwaaaa!" The little Cassetticon flaps faster away to go hide behind some rocks. But there, behind Whirl, Soundwave is approaching quietly, taking advantage in the Bot's lapse in concentration. "Buzzsaw, Operation: Distraction complete." And with that, his giant ham-fist comes swinging in a wide arc toward the center of Whirl's back. Springer then says as if nothing's out of the ordinary, "Impulse...this isn't going exactly according to plan." Soundwave strikes Whirl with Haymaker. Hobo reaches the highest point amongst the rubble that is accessable to him, watching down like a god watching from the heavens. "And those that heeded the Fourth became one step closer to enlightenment. And they did rejoice, for they were the Chosen. And with this bestowed upon them, they did become prepared for his arrival." Shockwave manages to dig himself out enough sit up. A quick look around he spots his victim...Shockwaves raises his gun-hand at Springer's back and sends a focused beam of Microwave at the Autobot's back. "You should have tried to finish me when you had the chance Autobot. This will possibly be the last mistake you will ever make." Springer says, "Does anybody know, NGH! What that guy is talking about?" Shockwave strikes you with Microwave Blast for 7 points of damage. Saboteur Foxfire says, "What's going on, Springer?" Intel XO Impulse says, "I have an idea, but not over the broadband. Not now. I do want to talk with him, though." Catechism gets shanked, her cockpit glass slashed clean open. The shards of smokey grey glass fall to the ground and are crushed underfoot. Then, Springer roughly checks her aside, and he cuts her off from access to Impulse. Moreover, the blow from Springer hurts, and she cries out a, "Sheeyagh!" Unable to aim at Impulse, she shoots at Springer, unleashing a different side of the spectrum. Catechism strikes you with Magnetic Mayhem for 14 points of damage. Springer says, "Got it. Foxfire, I'm just trying to -- OWW, SLAGGIT! Uh, just trying to keep a couple of Decepticons busy. Guess they don't like surprises." Intel XO Impulse says, "Springer, switch partners?" "Not yet," Fireflight yells up almost merrily. "Here, let me change that for you!" With just a brief glance aside at the less homicidal crazy robot over everyone else's heads, Fireflight sprays more laserfire at Blueshift... and possibly Hobo and the ceiling too, in the process. Springer says, "You got it Impulse! Watch out though...I think I'm finally getting him angry though." Springer seems strangely proud of the idea. Fireflight misses Blue Spaceship with his Laser Blast attack. Silverbolt is able to dodge Blueshift's laser attack. "Personally, I'd rather have you in a trash compactor." He says aiming a punch to blueshift's nosecone Saboteur Foxfire says, "Well, of course not. They're 'Cons..." Darn that Springer, cutting in on his dance partner. That wasn't very nice. But Impulse takes the opening Springer gives him, shifting around to look for an angle to come in on. But the blast from Shockwave, now having dug himself out of the wreckage, calls attention to a new dance partner -- one with a far larger chest than Catechism. Sad that it's on Shockwave. Impulse snaps his blaster pistol out from subspace, and comes in, firing a couple of shots at the larger mech as he closes in to engage. "The old adage... heh, it's almost as old as me! But let's see if it still holds true, shall we?" Silverbolt misses Blue Spaceship with his Uppacut to da nosecone! attack. Impulse strikes Shockwave with Blaster Pistol << High >>. "Nnnn cowardly Autobot!" comes the voice from the blue spacecraft that is Blueshift, as he twists and turns across the roof of the tunnel, to come up behind Silverbolt, his disruptors thooming through the air. "Maybe all you Aerialbots could team up on /Americon/, that would be a fair Autobot fight, wouldn't it?" He cackles madly, letting his voice echo. Blueshift strikes Silverbolt with BANG!. Whirl emits a growl as he paws at his face, tidbits of it gone and scattered on the floor now. "Get back here, you stupid animal! I have yet to tear your circuits out through a hole in your neck!" Revenge on Buzzsaw would have to wait, though, because Soundwave totally thought it would be a good idea to nail him in the back. "Graaargh...I don't like that! I don't like that at ALL!"&r&rThe helicopter rotors perched on his back unfold, flipping out to their full length on either side. With the roar of a motor, they begin to spin, faster and faster untill they get to the point where they could lift him right off the ground. But Whirl's not going to run, no. He's going to throw his entire self backwards against Soundwave, blades set to shred anything that gets in the way. Whirl strikes Soundwave with Rotor Slice. Shockwave gets up from the rubble and gets hit by a shot from Impulse. The cyclops slowly turns to see where this annoyance came from. Shockwave gets up and walks towards Impulse with determination and gives some harsh punishment. The kind reserved for Insecticons or Starscream. Shockwave strikes Impulse with The Starscreamer. Springer gets zapped in the back by Shockwave. He reaches one hand back as if to feel for the wound, but can't manage. "Oh, I have a feeling I'll be making mistakes...for a LONG TIME to come, Shockwave! Um...that came out wrong. What I mean wasOOOF!!" Whatever Springer meant is cut off abrubptly as Catechism's magnetic attack hits, this one blowing him completely off of his feet. But he pops up again almost immediately. "I'm okay!" He raises his sword and thumbs a small control, activating the power field before leaping at Catechism. "How about you, 'Commander'?" Catechism evades your Energy_Sword attack. Catechism is again listening to that talk of the Fourth. Where is coming from? Up, high, over near the rubble... Her neck prickles, and she manages to step aside, just in time, as Springer's sword nets nothing but air. She whirls on Springer, withdrawing her standard issue military knife, which is nowhere near as impressive as a sword. She laughs, almost nervously, and replies, "Oh, you know how Blueshift is," she pauses, "AWESOME!" On the count of 'awesome', she attempts to stab Springer. Soundwave just doesn't move that fast. He brings up his arm to stop the rotor, and the metal emeds itself deep into his forearm. But he makes no sounds of pain, no admission of damage. Shoving Whirl backwards away from him, with the blade ripping itself out of his forearm and leaving a jagged gash, the Communicator lifts his heavy right foot to plant in Whirl's chest. Soundwave misses Whirl with his Das Boot attack. Catechism strikes you with Standard Issue Stabbity for 4 points of damage. And what a mighty backhand that was. Impulse staggers back from that one... two steps... three... and then, suddenly, he stumbles off, falling down with a cry... and then silence. Shockwave watches the Autobot fall off -somewhere- "Intriguing." The Decepticon walks towards where Impulse fell off wondering if the bumbling Autobot found some secret tunnel or something. Springer stumbles back a step, more in surprise than in pain, as the knife pokes a hole in his side. He looks at Catechism's blade with profession interest. "Hmm, carbon-fiber, heat-treated...Darkmount series? Or is that a Polyhex?" He shrugs, then reaches behind his back and produces his own knife. This one his almost as long as his own forearm, dull and viciously serated - the TF equivalent of a Bowie knife. "But I like this one better!" Catechism evades your blade attack. Whirl oofs loudly as he's shoved, resulting in him stumbling around with his arms flailing around on either side trying to steady his frame. Give the guy a break, he has big feet and the ground isn't exactly level, you know. Thanks to dumb luck (or maybe it was actually careful planning?), the Wrecker's mad struggle for balance moves him away from the foot that was aimed to crush his poor chest. "What is WITH you guys and trying to crush canopies!? Do you have ANY idea how frustrating it is to constantly be kicked in the canopy!?" He levels his module yet again at Soundwave, but this time a flashing light on its exterior shows that it's on a different setting. Whirl strikes Soundwave with Pew x3. Catechism actually does answer Springer's question, "Nightsiege." It's a stupid little knife, not a military secret. She then slips out of the reach of Springer's much more impresisve knife, which bak her against a wall. She pivots and tries to kick the helicopter, like a can-can dancer of doom. Catechism strikes you with Kick for 4 points of damage. "Fairer than when your Sweeps all go out in a pack. How many of their targets can't even shoot back?" Fireflight doesn't sound angry at Blueshift's accusation, but his weapon is again raised toward the out-of-reach shuttle. Fireflight misses Blue Spaceship with his Laser Blast attack. Silence... and as Shockwave looks over the edge to see, he sees only more ruins, fallen down from where the main fighting is... but there's no gold Autobot there. It's as if he vanished... Of course, gunning the engines are a likely sign that someone's coming... and there it is, a gold hovercar with black and red markings. And /damned/ if it isn't trying to book it as fast as Blurr. Impulse has got only one shot at this... and if he misses, it won't be good. Hell, even if he hits, he's gonna have to hope it staggers Shockwave enough to allow him the change to evade before he gets royally ganked. A flurry of shifting, twisting and contorting ensues as Impulse transforms into the sleek, streamlined form of a gold hovercar. "Sweeps? SWEEPS?" Blueshift roars. Now Fireflight has got his attention. He transforms to robot mode, foot rockets blasting as he powers towards the Autobot. "Sweeps aren't real Decepticons, they're like... fish or something!" He pulls out a knife and thrusts it at Fireflight. "Let me show you what a PROPER Decepticon can do!" The spaceship flips up into the handsome form of Blueshift Blueshift strikes Fireflight with Stabby stabby. Silverbolt sighs. "I've got a better idea, Blueshift." he says igniting his own sword. "How about you shut yourself off....permanently?" Impulse strikes Shockwave with Sideswiped!. Silverbolt strikes Blueshift with energy_sword. Americon has arrived. A large portion of Soundwave's chest is made of Cybertronian metaplastiglass, yet he still seems unsympathetic about trying to crush Whirl's canopy in. Maybe it's the face mask, or maybe it's all the murderous intent behind it. Stepping back, he looks down as smoke pours off of his ruined fast-forward button, which continues to melt into soup and drip off onto the ground in a little silver puddle. He reaches up again to the button on his shoulder. "Frenzy, eject. Operation: Destruction." A red and black cassette flings itself into the air, transforming and landing as a little humanoid with cool shades and big speakers. "Aw yeah, boss, yeah yeah YEAH! You done messed up son!" Frenzy yells at Whirl. "You called down the THUNDER?! Well YOU GOT IT! AAAHAHAHAHA. Break it down now, CUT TIME!" *BOOM boom BOOM* comes the alternating beats, pulsing and rattling the air in destructive patterns as Frenzy cackles like a madman. Soundwave strikes Whirl with THE THUNDER. Hobo looks from one combatant to the next, the smaller individual battles within the whole that is the swirling melee below. And then his head momentarily tilts skyward, as if perhaps listening, or maybe smelling. "The time of the Fourth is close..." he concludes. Though what led him to this statement is very much unclear. WHAM! Shockwave gets clocked bumper right in the face which send the towering Decepticon flying back into the rubble. "You will pay for that Autobot..." He struggles to get back up running a quick diagnostic at the same time. He's not in big trouble yet but this has passed the stage of minor annoyance. An exemple must be made. Shockwave aims is gun-hand at Impulse and fires off a shot of Infrared radiation. Shockwave misses Gold and Black Hovercar << Impulse >> with his Infrared Blast attack. Following up Frenzy's big distraction, while he has a second to play commander, Soundwave hits the button again. "Americon, eject. Operation: Retrieval." He launches yet another Cassette into the air, pointing this time at Hobo. Springer nods at Catechism. "Nightsiege! That was my next guess...I should have recognized by the way it felt when--" His mouth is suddenly shut, mercifully before he can finish explaining how Wreckers can regognize a bladed weapon's point of manufacture by how they feel when being punctured by one. But not only is his mouth shut by the kick, his whole head is snapped back. This one does hurt him, and it causes him to stumble back, momentarily stunned. But passes in an instant...and forcing him back a step also has the unintended side-affect of giving him more room to operate. Hefting his sword in both hands, he aims a quick sweeping blow at Catechism's midsection, not bothering with the energon-depleting power field this time. You strike Catechism with Sword. The only thing worse than a cassette, was a cassette that thought they were gangsta. Whirl was going to realize why this is. "Gah! No! Your taste in music is terrible! Curse you Frenzy! Curse yooouu!" The Wrecker falls onto a knee, hand grasping the ground as the force of the blaring sonics wash over his frame. His audios were ringing, and he was becomming more and more dizzy and lightheaded as the little monster continued his unmerciful barrage on him. Despite this, Whirl pushes himself back up onto unsteady feet, "You need to..listen to something better.." He starts sprinting towards Frenzy and, once he's in good position, throws his foot out to kick him like a football. At his keeper, of course. "Like Huey Lewis and the News!" Whirl strikes Soundwave with The Kickoff. Virtually the moment Impulse sideswipes Shockwave, he guns his engines, launching away and transforming before landing behind a small wall of rubble... which promptly explodes from Shockwave's blast. Dust and small particles of the wall scuff at Impulse's armor, but he's back on his feet again. "Yeah, yeah... I keep hearing how I'm gonna pay for it." He runs for another wall, his right arm snapping up to reveal a retractable blaster, which he fires at Shockwave. A flurry of shifting, twisting and contorting ensues as the sleek, streamlined form of a gold hovercar transforms into the Autobot known as Impulse. Impulse strikes Shockwave with Wrist-Mounted Blaster. Catechism has her midsection slashed. Her canopy was already ruined, and now Springer tears up the upholstry of her seats, which hurts a lot more than one would expect. She snarls savagely and brings up an arm gun, since she has a little distance now. She unleashes her acid, aiming to turn Springer, Ace Attorney, into Two-Face. Catechism strikes you with Acid Strike for 6 points of damage. Intel XO Impulse says, "Okay, Springer, I think we've had our fun now. Let's pull out." Catechism's Acid Strike attack continues to sear away at you, doing 3 damage. Catechism's Acid Strike attack wears off at last. Springer says, "Fun? Maybe -you- should be the...GRAHAH IT BURNS!...ahem. Hnf. Maybe -you- should be the Wrecker." Intel XO Impulse says, "Heh, and listen to Sheng gripe because she'll want to make sure I don't get in over my head? Like, for instance... now?" Frenzy pumps his fists in the air. "YEEEEAAAAH, I'm the freaking CHAMPION." He runs straight up to Whirl and yells, "In yo' FACE! In yo' FACE! In yo' --" and then Whirl boots him straight in the head. "OOOOOOOOW! SLAGGIN SLAGGY SLAG SLAGGER!" The red Cassetticon starts running around in circles clutching his face, yelling obscenities. Soundwave, smugly watches Whirl from the sidelines now, calmly taking aim with his shoulder cannon. Arms folded across his chest, he stands there like he's just a spectator. One that's shooting white-hot bolts of death at Whirl! Soundwave strikes Whirl with disruptor. Hobo, for a reason only known to himself, decides that now is the time to deliver the message he has been gibbering on about this whole time, as if the whole thing were pre-determined. Bright optics illuminate from beneath the hood of the four-legged creature's rags. "And thus the light did shine at this moment, and the Fourth did make itself known." "FOUR OF EIGHT..." It is in the rock, but not in the stone; It is in the marrow, but not in the bone; It is in the bolster, but not in the bed; It is not in the living, nor yet in the dead... And then strangely the robes around the creature flutter in a momentary breeze and that which was contained in them is suddenly gone, the rags loosely drapped over pieces of the rubble... Hobo shrinks into the form of a small cassette tape. Silverbolt says, "yeah...whatever that meant. Guys....let's get out of here. Pick a target and get ready to fire everything at him." Springer stumbles back away from Catechism, clutching at his face. "GRAAH!" He's quite a few feet away from Catechism before he's able to pull his hand down to look at it. Some of the armor on his palm is also scored slightly, a testament to the intensity of the acid. "I don't even wanna KNOW where that came from!" He complains to Catechism. But then he looks around again, raising his tiny remote control from before...wait a second, it lasted through a fight like this? And didn't he already press both buttons? But no...Springer now holds it between his thumb and first finger, so that one digit is on each button. And he then reveals the secret 'third command sequence' Wreckers like to use in their two-button controlling devices. He presses -both buttons at the same time-. An instant later, more explosions go off, and a rumbling begins all around. The rubble by the entrance is cleared in an instant, blasted free to show the darkened Cybertron skies beyond. But the rumbling continues, and now the entire chamber is starting to quake a bit, bits of ruined rock falling here and there. Bits at first...but soon whole slaps of stone are dropping to shatter against the ground. Looks like the entire ceiling is in danger of collapsing! Americon's robot legs pop out metallic feather-like objects as they and his lower torso split apart, also revealing an eagle head. The arms and robot head join the main body, and his guns convert into tail feathers and rocket launchers. Americon is now a bald eagle! Whirl says, "Sprrriiinnggggerrrr, what is with you and making things explode?" Silverbolt says, "better than my Idea to charge blast Catechism." Intel XO Impulse says, "Well, THAT'S a way to go about it. Autobots, MOVE!" Robotic Bald Eagle is launched like a pop tart from Soundwave, and blasts off for the spot indicated by Soundwave... only to find nothing, apparently. He does a few circles in the air over the spot and complains, "I do not see anything! Perhaps he is cloaked!" He begins firing at random with optic lasers. "Take that!" Silverbolt starts running out of the tunnel....grabbing Fireflight and running as fast as he can. Blueshift stares about, incredulous. "The Autobots mean to kill us with them! Fools, we have the superior air speed! Die Autobots!" With that, he leaps to the air, transforming into his small spacecraft mode as he starts to blitz through the cavern, dodging rocks as they fall Blueshift leaps into the air, flipping into the form of a small spacecraft Blueshift retreats from the area swiftly, outdistancing all pursuit and parting shots. Fireflight backs off from Silverbolt and Blueshift as the two square off with their blades. Fireflight's occasionally thought about trying training with one, but never seems to get around to it somehow stuff comes up. Like that weird bot up there going on about things in other things. And stuff comes down, too, like - "The ceiling! Come on!" Fireflight waits only long enough to make sure Silverbolt isn't trying to make a stand before running with the others. Catechism scoffs, "A Wrecker can identify a knife but not an acid? For shame, Springer!" But really, he's right - he doesn't want to know what Catechism ha to go through to get that weapon. She glances around as the place states to cave in, and she remarks, "It is my profesional opinion as a demolitionist that this structure is now unsafe. This battle has been brought to you by the letter R." That said, she makes a breaks for it and transforms, flying for the tunnel exit. F-35, Marine Corps variant, transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. As more explosions come, Impulse watches... and waits... mostly because he's making a point of being sure all the Autobots get out of the ruins of New Vilnacron before he heads out as well. He had been one of the first in... and he's the last one out. But with his speed, he's got as good a chance to get out as anyone else. A flurry of shifting, twisting and contorting ensues as Impulse transforms into the sleek, streamlined form of a gold hovercar. Shockwave notices the stgructural integrity rapidly failing thanks to the last set of charges. Now he must weight the statistics of personal safety, vengence, efficient termination of his enemies. He's made his choice. Shockwave transforms into his space-gun mode and flies out of the cave like bat out of Gotham. Now it's Whirl's turn to prance around in a victory dance. "Ha! In YOUR face! My FOOT in your FACE! Hahahaha!" He throws his arms up in the air and hoots loudly, "Ehehheheheheheh! I am the winner!" And then he's shot by Soundwave, who he had forgotten was still lurking around. "Grr..You are really pissing me off!" He levels his module at him, all gung-ho for shooting him in the face with a Null Ray and putting him out for a bit. And then Springer does his little explodey gimmick. "Next time," he huffs, deciding now is a good time to haul ass out of there. With the traditional sound, Shockwave transforms into a giant space-gun. Shockwave begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Robotic Bald Eagle , F-35B Lightning II , Gold and Black Hovercar << Impulse >>. Catechism begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from Gold and Black Hovercar << Impulse >>. Soundwave resonates loudly, "Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Americon: return." He pushes the button on his shoulder to allow them entry into.. um.. Cassette..space..thingy. Springer turns and faces the opening to the cavern. He watches the Decepticons pulling out, throws up his arms and lets our a triumphant, "WRECKERS RULE!!", before high-tailing it out of the area himself. Robotic Bald Eagle cheers, rocketing right back at Soundwave, even smashing Buzzsaw out of his way. "Haha, first one in! The rest of you SUCK! Hahahahaha!" Americon collapses and shrinks down into a very tiny cassette labeled, "America's Most Patriotic Hits!" Patriotic Cassette yays as he is sucked into the special cassette storage area, where... something happens. What, exactly? Who knows. But Americon seems really happy to be trapped in there again. Silverbolt begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Soundwave, Space-Gun , Whirl, Gold and Black Hovercar << Impulse >>, Springer. Whirl says, "I assume now is a good time to leave?" Soundwave waits for all his children to reach safety, then turns and power-marches out of the caverns. Soundwave begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space-Gun , Silverbolt, Whirl, Gold and Black Hovercar << Impulse >>, Springer. Springer says, "You bet it is Whirl!"